Vehicle control system and vehicle control method

ABSTRACT

Provided is a vehicle control system including a plurality of vehicles, a storage that stores information relating to a user who is on a vehicle for each of the plurality of vehicles, at least one processor configured to receive a matching request for requesting meeting with a user who is on one of the plurality of vehicles, specify a first vehicle which a first user matching the matching request is on, on the basis of the information stored in the storage and perform control on the first vehicle so as to let the first vehicle and a requesting source of the matching request meet each other.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No.2018-024924, filed on Feb. 15, 2018, which is hereby incorporated byreference herein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a vehicle control system and a vehiclecontrol method.

Description of the Related Art

A mobile office in which office equipment is provided within a vehicleis disclosed (for example, Patent document 1). In the mobile office, apassenger can do clerical work even while the vehicle is traveling.

CITATION LIST Patent Document

-   Patent document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. H09-183334

However, for example, there is a case where users who do clerical workwithin mobile offices have needs for meeting and consulting each other.

The present disclosure has been made in view of various actualcircumstances as described above, and an object of the presentdisclosure is to provide a vehicle control system and a vehicle controlmethod which enable meeting with another user who is on a vehicle.

SUMMARY

One aspect of the present disclosure is a vehicle control systemincluding a plurality of vehicles, a storage that stores informationrelating to a user who is on a vehicle for each of the plurality ofvehicles, at least one processor configured to receive a matchingrequest for requesting meeting with a user who is on one of theplurality of vehicles; specify a first vehicle which a first usermatching the matching request is on, on the basis of the informationstored in the storage; and perform control on the first vehicle so as tolet the first vehicle and a requesting source of the matching requestmeet each other. Each of the plurality of vehicles is, for example, amanned-driven or unmanned-driven car.

By this, a user who is the requesting source of the matching request canmeet the first user. Further, for the first user who is on the firstvehicle, a time period during which the first user is on the firstvehicle is highly likely to be a vacant time period or an idle timeperiod, and, according to one aspect of the present disclosure, it ispossible to effectively utilize the vacant time period.

Further, in one aspect of the present disclosure, each of the pluralityof vehicles may be a vehicle which can autonomously travel on the basisof a move command, and the at least one processor may be configured todetermine a meeting point for meeting with the requesting source and maytransmit the move command for moving to the meeting point to the firstvehicle as the control on the first vehicle. In the case where thevehicle is a vehicle which can autonomously travel, for example, thevehicle control system can control the vehicle more easily than amanned-driven vehicle, so that the vehicle control system can moreeasily let the user who is the requesting source of the matching requestand the first user meet each other. Further, in the case where thevehicle is a vehicle which can autonomously travel, for the first userwho is on the first vehicle, a time period during which the first useris on the first vehicle is more likely to be a vacant time period or anidle time period, so that it is possible to effectively utilize thevacant time period.

Further, in one aspect of the present disclosure, each of the pluralityof vehicles may be a vehicle which can autonomously travel, and therequesting source of the matching request may be a vehicle other thanthe first vehicle among the plurality of vehicles, and may be a secondvehicle which a second user is on.

In this case, the at least one processor may be configured to transmitthe move command for moving to the meeting point also to the secondvehicle. By both the first vehicle and the second vehicle being headedto the meeting point, it is possible to let the first user and thesecond user meet each other sooner. Further, because the second vehiclewhich is the requesting source is also a vehicle which can autonomouslytravel, for the second user, a time period during which the second useris on the second vehicle is highly likely to be a vacant time period, sothat it is possible to effectively utilize the vacant time period forboth the first user and the second user.

Further, in one aspect of the present disclosure, the requesting sourceof the matching request may be a user terminal of the second user. Bythis, even if the requesting source of the matching request is a userterminal, it is possible to let the user (second user) who is therequesting source and the first user meet each other.

Further, in one aspect of the present disclosure, the requesting sourceof the matching request may be a user terminal of the second user who ison the second vehicle other than the first vehicle among the pluralityof vehicles. In this case, the at least one processor may be configuredto transmit the move command for moving to the meeting point also to thesecond vehicle. By this, in the case where the second user is on thesecond vehicle, because both the first vehicle and the second vehicleare headed to the meeting point, the first user and the second user canmeet each other sooner.

Further, in one aspect of the present disclosure, the requesting sourceof the matching request may be a user terminal of the second user who ison none of the plurality of vehicles. In this case, for example, the atleast one processor may be configured to transmit a move command formoving to a location of the user terminal, a getting-on command for thesecond user at the location of the user terminal, and a move command formoving to the meeting point from the location of the user terminal, tothe second vehicle other than the first vehicle among the plurality ofvehicles. By this, because the second vehicle is headed to the seconduser, lets the second user on and is headed to the meeting point, evenin the case where the second user is not on the second vehicle, thefirst user and the second user can meet each other sooner.

Further, in one aspect of the present disclosure, in the case where thefirst vehicle and the second vehicle are vehicles which can autonomouslytravel, and, in the case where the first vehicle and the second vehiclemeet each other at the meeting point, and one of the first user and thesecond user changes the vehicle to the second vehicle or the firstvehicle, the control unit may transmit a move command for moving to apredetermined location to a vehicle which the user is not on out of thefirst vehicle and the second vehicle. By this, because a vehicle whichthe user is not on returns to the predetermined location, the vehiclecan be easily managed.

Further, in one aspect of the present disclosure, in a case where atleast one processor may be configured to notify the first vehicle of aconfirmation request as to the matching request and when a response isreceived from the first vehicle, the at least one processor may beconfigured to perform control on the first vehicle. By this, it ispossible to determine whether or not to let the user who is the matchingrequest source and the first user who is on the first vehicle meet eachother while taking into account a state of the first user who is on thefirst vehicle.

Note that the vehicle control system of the present disclosure may beconfigured with one or a plurality of processing apparatuses such ascomputers. In the case where the vehicle control system is configuredwith a plurality of processing apparatuses, respective components of thevehicle control system are provided at the plurality of processingapparatuses in a dispersed manner, and the respective processingapparatuses implement processing as the vehicle control system incooperation with each other.

The present disclosure can be viewed from an aspect of a vehicle controlmethod. In the vehicle control method, a control apparatus that controlsa plurality of vehicles stores information relating to a user who is ona vehicle in a storage for each of the plurality of vehicles, receives amatching request for match with a user who is on one of the plurality ofvehicles, specifies a first vehicle which a first user matching thematching request is on, on the basis of the information stored in thestorage unit, and performs control on the first vehicle so as to let thefirst vehicle and a requesting source of the matching request meet eachother. Note that technical idea disclosed regarding the above-describedvehicle control system can be also applied to the vehicle control methodwithin a range which does not cause technical variance.

According to the present disclosure, it is possible to let a user andanother user who is on a vehicle meet each other.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a system configuration ofa vehicle control system according to a first embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating one example of a hardware configurationof the vehicle;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating one example of a hardware configurationof a control system mounted on an EV palette and each unit relating tothe control system;

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the centerserver;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating one example of a functionalconfiguration of the center server and the vehicle in the vehiclecontrol system;

FIG. 6 is one example of the vehicle management information table;

FIG. 7 is one example of a flowchart of matching control processing bythe operation control unit of the center server;

FIG. 8 is one example of a flowchart of vehicle return controlprocessing by the operation control unit of the center server;

FIG. 9 is one example of a processing sequence in a specific example;

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating one example of a system configurationof a vehicle control system according to a second embodiment;

FIG. 11 is one example of a flowchart of matching control processing bythe operation control unit of the center server according to the secondembodiment;

FIG. 12 is one example of a flowchart of matching control processing bythe operation control unit of the center server according to themodified example of the second embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below on thebasis of the drawings. Configurations of the embodiments described beloware examples, and the present disclosure is not limited to theconfigurations of the embodiments.

<EV Palette>

In the present embodiment, a self-propelled electric vehicle called anelectric vehicle (EV) palette provides various functions or service to auser in cooperation with a computer system on a network. The EV paletteof the present embodiment (hereinafter, simply referred to as an EVpalette) is a mobile body which can perform automated driving andunmanned driving, and there are EV palettes with various sizes inaccordance with application. For example, various EV palettes includinga small EV palette which can be utilized in place of a suitcase and alarge EV palette which can carry a person and an object, can beutilized.

Further, the EV palette has an information processing apparatus and acommunication apparatus for controlling the EV palette, providing a userinterface with a user who utilizes the EV palette, transmitting andreceiving information with various kinds of servers on a network, or thelike. The EV palette provides functions and services added by variouskinds of servers on the network to the user in addition to processingwhich can be executed by the EV palette alone, in cooperation withvarious kinds of servers on the network.

First Embodiment <Outline of System>

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a system configuration ofa vehicle control system 1 according to a first embodiment. The vehiclecontrol system 1 includes a plurality of vehicles 100, and a centerserver 500 which manages the plurality of vehicles 100. The vehiclecontrol system 1 is a system which provides matching service in whichthe center server 500 lets two vehicles 100 meet each other.

Each of the plurality of vehicles 100 is, for example, connected to theInternet via a wireless communication network, and is connected to thecenter server 500 through the Internet. Each of the vehicles 100performs mobile communication such as, for example, 3G, LTE (Long TermEvolution) and LTE-Advanced and wireless communication in accordancewith standards of a wireless LAN such as WiFi.

The vehicle 100 is, for example, an EV palette. The EV palette is amobile body which carries a person or an object and which can travelthrough automated driving and unmanned driving. The EV palette has auser interface by computer control, accepts a request from a user,responds to the user, executes predetermined processing in response tothe request from the user and reports a processing result to the user.For example, the EV palette accepts an instruction from the user fromspeech, an image or input/output equipment of a computer, and executesprocessing. Further, the EV palette recognizes the user from an image,speech, or the like, of the user, and follows the user in accordancewith movement of the user. However, the EV palette notifies the centerserver 500 of the request from the user for a request which is unable tobe processed by the EV palette alone, and executes processing incooperation with the center server 500. Examples of the request which isunable to be processed by the EV palette alone can include, for example,requests for acquisition of information from a database on the centerserver 500, recognition or inference by learning machine, or the like.Note that the vehicle 100 is not limited to the EV palette and may be,for example, a freight car which is driven by a person.

The vehicle 100 creates an operation plan in response to an operationcommand from the center server 500 and performs autonomous traveling toa destination in accordance with the operation plan. The vehicle 100includes means for acquiring location information, acquires locationinformation with a predetermined period and transmits the locationinformation to the center server 500. Further, the vehicle 100 transmitsa getting-on notification or a getting-off notification of a user to thecenter server 500 in accordance with input from the user who gets on orgets off the vehicle 100.

The center server 500 controls the vehicle 100. More specifically, thecenter server 500 holds location information of the vehicle 100, andinformation of the user who is on the vehicle 100 in a vehiclemanagement database. The center server 500, for example, accepts amatching request for match with a user B from a vehicle 100A which auser A is on, extracts a vehicle 100B which the user B is on from thevehicle management database, determines a meeting point and time andtransmits an operation command to the vehicle 100A and the vehicle 100B.

The vehicle 100 calculates an operation route and starts operation inresponse to the operation command from the center server 500 and movestoward the meeting point until the designated time. In the firstembodiment, it is assumed that the vehicle 100 is an EV palette. Thevehicle 100 and the EV palette are one example of a “vehicle”. A userwho is a target of the matching request is one example of a “firstuser”. The vehicle 100 which the user who is the target of the matchingrequest is on is one example of a “first vehicle”. The vehicle 100 whichis a transmission source of the matching request in the first embodimentis one example of a “second vehicle”. A user who is on the vehicle 100which is the transmission source of the matching request in the firstembodiment is one example of a “second user”. The center server 500 isone example of a “control apparatus”.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating one example of a hardware configurationof the vehicle 100. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating one example of ahardware configuration of a control system 10 mounted on an EV paletteand each unit relating to the control system 10. FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 arediagrams in the case where an EV palette is employed as the vehicle 100.In FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, description will be provided assuming that thevehicle 100 is an EV palette 100.

The EV palette 100 includes a boxlike body 1Z, and four wheels TR1 toTR4 provided at anterior and posterior portions in a traveling directionat both sides of a lower part of the body 1Z. The four wheels TR1 to TR4are coupled to a drive shaft which is not illustrated and are driven bya drive motor 1C illustrated in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3. Further, thetraveling direction upon traveling of the four wheels TR1 to TR4 (aparallel direction to a plane of rotation of the four wheels TR1 to TR4)is displaced relatively with respect to the body 1Z by a steering motor1B illustrated in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, so that the traveling direction iscontrolled.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, on an external wall of the body 1Z of the EVpalette 100, displays 16-1 to 16-5 are fixed. The displays 16-1 to 16-5are, for example, liquid crystal displays, electro luminescence panels,or the like. In the case where the displays 16-1 to 16-5 are referred towithout distinction, they will be collectively referred to as a display16.

Now, in FIG. 2, it is assumed that the EV palette 100 travels in adirection of an arrow AR1. Therefore, it is assumed that a leftdirection in FIG. 2 is the traveling direction. Therefore, in FIG. 2, aside surface on the traveling direction side of the body 1Z will bereferred to as an anterior surface of the EV palette 100, and a sidesurface in a direction opposite to the traveling direction will bereferred to as a posterior surface of the EV palette 100. Further, aside surface on a right side with respect to the traveling direction ofthe body 1Z will be referred to as a right side surface, and a sidesurface on a left side will be referred to as a left side surface.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the EV palette 100 has obstacle sensors 18-1and 18-2 at locations close to corner portions on both sides on theanterior surface, and has obstacle sensors 18-3 and 18-4 at locationsclose to corner portions on both sides on the posterior surface.Further, the EV palette 100 has cameras 17-1, 17-2, 17-3 and 17-4respectively on the anterior surface, the left side surface, theposterior surface and the right side surface. In the case where theobstacle sensors 18-1, or the like, are referred to without distinction,they will be collectively referred to as an obstacle sensor 18 in thepresent embodiment. Further, in the case where the cameras 17-1, 17-2,17-3 and 17-4 are referred to without distinction, they will becollectively referred to as a camera 17 in the present embodiment.

Further, the EV palette 100 includes the steering motor 1B, the drivemotor 1C, and a secondary battery 1D which supplies power to thesteering motor 1B and the drive motor 1C. Further, the EV palette 100includes a wheel encoder 19 which detects a rotation angle of the wheeleach second, and a steering angle encoder 1A which detects a steeringangle which is the traveling direction of the wheel. Still further, theEV palette 100 includes the control system 10, a communication unit 15,a GPS receiving unit 1E, a microphone 1F and a speaker 1G. Note that,while not illustrated, the secondary battery 1D supplies power also tothe control system 10, or the like. However, a power supply whichsupplies power to the control system 10, or the like, may be providedseparately from the secondary battery 1D which supplies power to thesteering motor 1B and the drive motor 1C.

The control system 10 is also referred to as an Electronic Control Unit(ECU). As illustrated in FIG. 3, the control system 10 includes a CPU11, a memory 12, an image processing unit 13 and an interface IF1. Tothe interface IF1, an external storage device 14, the communication unit15, the display 16, a display with a touch panel 16A, the camera 17, theobstacle sensor 18, the wheel encoder 19, the steering angle encoder 1A,the steering motor 1B, the drive motor 1C, the GPS receiving unit 1E,the microphone 1F, the speaker 1G, a BLE communication unit 1H, alocking/unlocking apparatus 150, or the like, are connected.

The obstacle sensor 18 is an ultrasonic sensor, a radar, or the like.The obstacle sensor 18 emits an ultrasonic wave, an electromagneticwave, or the like, in a detection target direction, and detectsexistence, a location, relative speed, or the like, of an obstacle inthe detection target direction on the basis of a reflected wave.

The camera 17 is an imaging apparatus using an image sensor such asCharged-Coupled Devices (CCD) and a Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (MOS) or aComplementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (CMOS). The camera 17 acquiresan image at predetermined time intervals called a frame period, andstores the image in a frame buffer which is not illustrated, within thecontrol system 10. An image stored in the frame buffer with a frameperiod is referred to as frame data.

The steering motor 1B controls a direction of a cross line on which aplane of rotation of the wheel intersects with a horizontal plane, thatis, an angle which becomes a traveling direction by rotation of thewheel, in accordance with an instruction signal from the control system10. The drive motor 1C, for example, drives and rotates the wheels TR1to TR4 in accordance with the instruction signal from the control system10. However, the drive motor 1C may drive one pair of wheels TR1 and TR2or the other pair of wheels TR3 and TR4 among the wheels TR1 to TR4. Thesecondary battery 1D supplies power to the steering motor 1B, the drivemotor 1C and parts connected to the control system 10.

The steering angle encoder 1A detects a direction of the cross line onwhich the plane of rotation of the wheel intersects with the horizontalplane (or an angle of the rotating shaft of the wheel within thehorizontal plane), which becomes the traveling direction by rotation ofthe wheel, at predetermined detection time intervals, and stores thedirection in a register which is not illustrated, in the control system10. For example, a direction to which the rotating shaft of the wheel isorthogonal with respect to the traveling direction (direction of thearrow AR1) in FIG. 2 is set as an origin of the angle. Further, thewheel encoder 19 acquires rotation speed of the wheel at predetermineddetection time intervals, and stores the rotation speed in a registerwhich is not illustrated, in the control system 10.

The communication unit 15 is, for example, a communication unit forperforming communication with various kinds of servers, or the like, ona network through a mobile phone base station and a public communicationnetwork connected to the mobile phone base station. The communicationunit 15 performs wireless communication using a wireless signal and awireless communication scheme conforming to predetermined wirelesscommunication standards.

The global positioning system (GPS) receiving unit 1E receives radiowaves of time signals from a plurality of satellites (Global PositioningSatellites) which orbit the earth and stores the time signal in aregister which is not illustrated, in the control system 10. Themicrophone 1F detects speech, converts the speech into a digital signaland stores the digital signal in a register which is not illustrated, inthe control system 10. The speaker 1G is driven by a D/A converter andan amplifier connected to the control system 10 or a signal processingunit which is not illustrated, and reproduces acoustic including soundand speech.

The CPU 11 of the control system 10 executes a computer program expandedat the memory 12 so as to be able to be executed, and executesprocessing as the control system 10. The memory 12 stores a computerprogram to be executed by the CPU 11, data to be processed by the CPU11, or the like. The memory 12 is, for example, a Dynamic Random AccessMemory (DRAM), a Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), a Read Only Memory(ROM), or the like. The image processing unit 13 processes data in theframe buffer obtained for each predetermined frame period from thecamera 17 in cooperation with the CPU 11. The image processing unit 13,for example, includes a GPU and an image memory which becomes the framebuffer. The external storage device 34, which is a non-volatile memory,is, for example, a Solid State Drive (SSD), a hard disk drive, or thelike.

For example, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the control system 10 acquires adetection signal from a sensor of each unit of the EV palette 100 viathe interface IF1. Further, the control system 10 calculates latitudeand longitude which is a location on the earth from the detection signalfrom the GPS receiving unit 1E. Still further, the control system 10acquires map data from a map information database stored in the externalstorage device 14, matches the calculated latitude and longitude to alocation on the map data and determines a current location. Further, thecontrol system 10 acquires a route to a destination from the currentlocation on the map data. Still further, the control system 10 detectsan obstacle around the EV palette 100 on the basis of signals from theobstacle sensor 18, the camera 17, or the like, determines the travelingdirection so as to avoid the obstacle and controls the steering angle.

Further, the control system 10 processes images acquired from the camera17 for each frame data in cooperation with the image processing unit 13,for example, detects change based on a difference in images andrecognizes an obstacle. Further, the control system 10 recognizes a userin each frame data of the images from the camera 17, maintains adistance to the user at a predetermined value and follows movement ofthe user. Further, the control system 10 recognizes gesture of the userin the frame data of images from the camera 17 and responds to theuser's will obtained from the recognized gesture. Still further, thecontrol system 10 analyzes a speech signal obtained from the microphone1F and responds to the user's will obtained from speech recognition.Note that the control system 10 may transmit the frame data of theimages from the camera 17 and speech data obtained from the microphone1F to the center server 500 on the network from the communication unit15. The analysis of the frame data of the images and the speech data maybe shared with the center server 500.

Still further, the control system 10 displays an image, characters andother information on the display 16. Further, the control system 10detects operation to the display with the touch panel 16A and accepts aninstruction from the user. Further, the control system 10 responds tothe instruction from the user via the display with the touch panel 16A,the camera 17 and the microphone 1F, from the display 16, the displaywith the touch panel 16A or the speaker 1G.

While the interface IF1 is illustrated in FIG. 3, a path fortransmission and reception of signals between the control system 10 anda control target is not limited to the interface IF1. That is, thecontrol system 10 may have a plurality of signal transmission andreception paths other than the interface IF1. Further, in FIG. 3, thecontrol system 10 has a single CPU 11. However, the CPU is not limitedto a single processor and may employ a multiprocessor configuration.Further, a signal CPU connected with a single socket may employ amulticore configuration. Processing of at least part of theabove-described units may be executed by processors other than the CPU,for example, at a dedicated processor such as a Digital Signal Processor(DSP) and a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU). Further, at least part ofprocessing of the above-described units may be archived by an integratedcircuit (IC) or other digital circuits. Still further, at least part ofthe above-described units may include analog circuits.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the centerserver 500. The center server 500 includes a CPU 51, a memory 52, aninterface IF5, an external storage device 54 and a communication unit55. Configurations and operation of the CPU 51, the memory 52, theinterface IF5 and the external storage device 54 are similar to those ofthe CPU 11, the memory 12, the interface IF1 and the external storagedevice 14 in FIG. 2. The communication unit 55 is, for example,connected to a public communication network through a LAN, and performscommunication with various kinds of servers, or the like, on the networkthrough the public communication network. The CPU 51 is one example of a“processor”, and the external storage device 54 is one example of a“storage”.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating one example of a functionalconfiguration of the center server 500 and the vehicle 100 in thevehicle control system 1. The center server 500 operates as each unitillustrated in FIG. 5 by a computer program on the memory 52. That is,the center server 500 includes a request accepting unit 501, a locationinformation managing unit 502, an operation control unit 503, and avehicle management database (DB) 504 as functional components.

The request accepting unit 501, for example, accepts a matching requestfor match with a user from the vehicle 100. The matching request is arequest for meeting with a target user. The matching request includes,for example, identification information of the target user. Note that amethod for designating the user who becomes a target of the matchingrequest may be, for example, a method in which identificationinformation of the user is directly input on the display with the touchpanel 16A of the vehicle 100, or may be a method in which the user isselected from a list of users displayed on the display with the touchpanel 16A of the vehicle 100. Note that, in the case where the centerserver 500 is used by a plurality of organizations which subscribe tothe matching service, while it is possible to designate a user whobelongs to the same organization as organization of a target of thematching request, it is not possible to designate a user who belongs toa different organization.

Therefore, in a case of the method in which the user who is the targetof the matching request is selected from a list of users, the usersdisplayed in the list are users who are allowed to share informationamong the users, such as, for example, users belonging to the sameorganization as the organization of the user who makes a matchingrequest. However, the method for designating the user who is the targetof the matching request is not limited to these.

The location information managing unit 502, for example, receiveslocation information transmitted from each vehicle 100 with apredetermined period and registers the location information in a vehiclemanagement DB 504 which will be described later.

For example, in the case where the matching request is accepted, theoperation control unit 503 specifies the vehicle 100 which the user whois the target of the matching request is on. The operation control unit503 determines a meeting point for the vehicle 100 which is a requestingsource and the vehicle 100 which is the target of the matching requestto meet each other, and estimated meeting time, and transmits theoperation command including the meeting point and the estimated meetingtime to the vehicle 100 which is the requesting source and the vehicle100 which is the target of the matching request. Details of theprocessing of the operation control unit 503 will be described later.

The vehicle management DB 504 is, for example, created within theexternal storage device 54 of the center server 500. The vehiclemanagement DB 504, for example, stores a vehicle management informationtable which holds information relating to the respective vehicles 100within the vehicle control system 1. Details of the vehicle managementinformation table will be described later.

One of the functional components of the center server 500 or part of theprocessing may be executed by other computers connected to the network.Further, while a series of processing to be executed at the centerserver 500 can be executed by hardware, the series of processing can bealso executed by software.

Then, the vehicle 100 operates as each unit illustrated in FIG. 5 by acomputer program on the memory. The vehicle 100 includes, for example, atraveling control unit 101, an operation plan control unit 102, anenvironment detecting unit 103, an input/output control unit 104, atransmitting/receiving unit 105 and a location information acquiringunit 106 as functional components.

The transmitting/receiving unit 105 is an interface with the centerserver 500. The transmitting/receiving unit 105, for example, transmitsdata input from other functional components to the center server 500 viathe communication unit 15, receives data from the center server 500through the communication unit 15 and outputs the data to apredetermined functional component.

The input/output control unit 104, for example, accepts operation inputfrom the user with respect to the vehicle 100 and creates a request or anotification in accordance with the operation input. Means for acceptingoperation input from the user is, for example, the display with thetouch panel 16A, a hardware switch (not illustrated) and an IC cardreader (not illustrated). For example, the input/output control unit 104outputs an operation screen on the display with the touch panel 16A.Examples of the operation screen displayed on the display with the touchpanel 16A include, for example, a screen including each of an inputfield or a list of information of the user who is the target of thematching request, an icon for inputting completion of meeting with theuser who is the target of the matching request, an icon for inputtingtermination of usage of the vehicle 100, or the like. The input/outputcontrol unit 104, for example, generates the matching request, amatching service completion notification, a notification that usage ofthe vehicle 100 is finished, or the like, on the basis of operationperformed by the user with respect to the display with the touch panel16A.

Further, for example, each user holds an IC card in which identificationinformation of the user is recorded. When the user gets on or gets offthe vehicle 100, the user brings the IC card closer to an IC card readerprovided at the vehicle 100 to cause the IC card reader to read theidentification information of the user. The input/output control unit104, for example, accepts input of the identification information of theuser from the IC card reader and generates a getting-on notification ora getting-off notification including the identification information ofthe user.

For example, the matching request, the notification of completion of thematching service, the notification of termination of usage of thevehicle 100, the getting-on notification and the getting-offnotification are output from the input/output control unit 104 to thetransmitting/receiving unit 105, and transmitted to the center server500 through the communication unit 15. Note that operation performed bythe user who gets on the vehicle 100 is not limited to theabove-described operation. For example, operation may be performed usingspeech.

The location information acquiring unit 106, for example, acquireslocation information of the vehicle 100 acquired by the GPS receivingunit 1E, or the like, with a predetermined period and transmits thelocation information to the center server 500. The location informationof the vehicle 100 is, for example, latitude and longitude.Alternatively, the location information of the vehicle 100 may be, forexample, address. Further, the location information of the vehicle 100acquired by the location information acquiring unit 106 is, for example,also output to the operation plan control unit 102 and the travelingcontrol unit 101.

The operation plan control unit 102 receives the operation command fromthe center server 500. The operation plan control unit 102 calculates aroute for the vehicle 100 to take on the basis of the operation commandand the location information of the own vehicle obtained by the locationinformation acquiring unit 106 and generates an operation plan. Theoperation plan includes data relating to the route through which thevehicle 100 is to travel calculated in this manner, and data specifyingprocessing which is to be performed by the vehicle 100 on part of theroute or the whole route. Examples of the data included in the operationplan can include, for example, the following (1) and (2).

(1) Data in which Route Through which the Own Vehicle Travels isExpressed with Collection of Road Links

The route through which the own vehicle travels may be, for example,automatically generated with reference to the stored map data on thebasis of the provided place of departure, a place which the vehicle goesthrough and a destination. Note that calculation of the route throughwhich the own vehicle travels may depend on processing of an externalapparatus (for example, the center server 500) instead of depending onprocessing within the vehicle 100. In this case, the center server 500acquires a location of the own vehicle from the vehicle 100, calculatesa route for the vehicle 100 to take and puts the calculated route datain the above-described operation command.

(2) Data Expressing Processing to be Performed by the Own Vehicle atPoint on Route

While the processing to be performed by the own vehicle includes, forexample, “letting the user get on/off” and “loading baggage”, theprocessing is not limited to these. The operation plan generated by theoperation plan control unit 102 is transmitted to the traveling controlunit 101 which will be described later.

The environment detecting unit 103 detects environment informationaround the vehicle 100 to be used for autonomous traveling on the basisof data acquired by various kinds of sensors mounted on the vehicle 100.While targets of detection of the environment detecting unit 103 are,for example, information such as the number and locations of lanes, thenumber and locations of vehicles existing around the own vehicle, thenumber and locations of obstacles (such as, for example, pedestrians,bicycles, constructions and buildings) existing around the own vehicle,a structure of the road, and road signs, the targets are not limited tothese. The targets of detection may be any information if theinformation is used for autonomous traveling. For example, in the casewhere the sensor is a stereo camera, an object around the vehicle 100 isdetected by image data captured by the stereo camera being subjected toimage processing. Further, the environment detecting unit 103 may trackthe detected object as well as simply detecting an object around thevehicle 100. Tracking is, for example, continuous detection of thedetected target. For example, it is possible to obtain relative speed ofthe object from a difference between coordinate of the object detectedone step before and current coordinate of the object. The data relatingto an environment around the vehicle 100, detected by the environmentdetecting unit 103 is output to the traveling control unit 101 whichwill be described later.

The traveling control unit 101, for example, generates a control commandfor controlling autonomous traveling of the own vehicle on the basis ofthe operation plan generated by the operation plan control unit 102, thedata relating to the environment around the vehicle 100 generated by theenvironment detecting unit 103 and the location information of the ownvehicle acquired by the location information acquiring unit 106. Forexample, if a traveling start command is input from the operation plancontrol unit 102, the traveling control unit 101 generates a controlcommand so as to cause the own vehicle to travel along a predeterminedroute and so that an obstacle does not enter a predetermined safe regioncentering around the own vehicle. The generated control command istransmitted to the drive motor 1C. As a method for generating a controlcommand for causing the vehicle to autonomously travel, a publicly knownmethod can be employed.

FIG. 6 is one example of the vehicle management information table. Thevehicle management information table is stored in the vehicle managementDB 504 of the center server 500. The vehicle management informationtable is a table which holds vehicle management information relating tothe vehicles 100 within the vehicle control system 1. The vehiclemanagement information table includes, for example, fields of a vehicleID, an initial location, a current location, a service state, a serviceID and a boarding user ID as the vehicle management information.

In the field of the vehicle ID, identification information of thevehicle 100 is input. The identification information of the vehicle 100may be, for example, identification information allocated to eachvehicle 100 in the vehicle control system 1 or may be number engraved ona number plate of the vehicle 100.

In the field of the initial location, location information of theinitial location of the vehicle 100 is input. For example, in the casewhere service is completed and other service is not allocated, thevehicle 100 is controlled to return to the initial location. In thefields of the vehicle ID and the initial location, values are input inadvance from an initial state of the vehicle management informationtable.

In the field of the current location, location information of thecurrent location of the vehicle 100, received from the vehicle 100 witha predetermined period is input. The field of the current location is,for example, updated every time the location information is receivedfrom the vehicle 100 by the location information managing unit 502.

In the field of the service state, a value indicating a service state ofthe vehicle 100 is input. In the first embodiment, as the valueindicating the service state of the vehicle 100, one of “not servicing”and “servicing” is input. The value “not servicing” indicates thatservice is not performed. The value “servicing” indicates that serviceis being performed. An initial value of the field of the service stateis, for example, “not servicing”. The field of the service state is, forexample, updated by the operation control unit 503.

In the field of the service ID, identification information of serviceallocated to the vehicle 100 is input. The identification information ofthe service is, for example, provided by the request accepting unit 501of the center server 500. In the field of the service ID, identificationinformation of the allocated service is input in the case where thefield of the service state is “servicing”, while the field of theservice state is blank in the case where the field of the service stateis “not servicing”. The field of the service ID is, for example, updatedby the operation control unit 503. Note that there are other types ofservice in which the vehicle 100 is used other than the matchingservice, and the vehicle 100 can execute a plurality of types of servicein parallel according to content of the service. Therefore, in the casewhere there are a plurality of types of service executed by the vehicle100, identification information of a plurality of types of service isinput in the field of the service ID. The field of the service ID is,for example, updated by the operation control unit 503.

In the field of the boarding user ID, identification information of auser who is on the vehicle 100 is input. A notification of userinformation of the user who is on the vehicle 100 is, for example, madefrom the vehicle 100 through a getting-on notification. The field of theboarding user ID is, for example, updated by the operation control unit503 every time a getting-on notification or a getting-off notificationis received for the vehicle 100.

<Processing Flow>

FIG. 7 is one example of a flowchart of matching control processing bythe operation control unit 503 of the center server 500. The processingillustrated in FIG. 7 is, for example, repeatedly executed with apredetermined period. While execution entity of the processingillustrated in FIG. 7 is the CPU 51 of the center server 500, theprocessing will be described assuming that the operation control unit503 which is a functional component is entity for convenience sake. Notethat this will similarly apply to description of the flowcharts in FIG.7 and the subsequent drawings.

In S101, the operation control unit 503 determines whether a matchingrequest is received or not. In the case where a matching request isreceived (S101: YES), the processing proceeds to S102. In the case wherea matching request is not received (S101: NO), the processingillustrated in FIG. 7 is finished.

In S102, the operation control unit 503 determines whether there is avehicle 100 which the target user is on from the vehicle managementinformation table and the identification information of the target userreceived along with the matching request or not. In the case where thereis a vehicle 100 which the target user is on (S102: YES), the processingproceeds to S103. In the case where the target user is on none of thevehicles 100 (S102: NO), the processing proceeds to S109.

In S103, the operation control unit 503 transmits a matchingconfirmation request to the vehicle 100 which the target user is on,specified in S102. The matching confirmation request is a request forconfirming permission of meeting with the user who is the requestingsource, to the target user. Along with the matching confirmationrequest, for example, identification information of the user who is therequesting source of the matching request is also transmitted.Hereinafter, the vehicle 100 which the target user is on will bereferred to as a target vehicle of the matching request, or simplyreferred to as a target vehicle.

At the target vehicle of the matching request, if the matchingconfirmation request is received, for example, a message of the matchingconfirmation request from the user who is the requesting source and anicon for an OK or NG response are displayed on the display with thetouch panel 16A. By the target user who is on the target vehicle of thematching request selecting an OK or NG icon, an OK or NG response istransmitted to the center server 500.

In S104, the operation control unit 503 determines whether an OKresponse is received from the target vehicle or not. In the case wherean OK response is received from the target vehicle (S104: YES), theprocessing proceeds to S105. In the case where an OK response is notreceived from the target vehicle (S104: NO), that is, in the case wherean NG response is received from the target vehicle, or in the case whereneither an OK response nor an NG response is received although apredetermined time period has elapsed, the processing proceeds to S109.

In S105, the operation control unit 503 determines a meeting point andestimated meeting time. A method for determining the meeting point andthe estimated meeting time is not limited to a specific method, and oneof the publicly known methods may be used. For example, the meetingpoint may be determined at a midpoint of the current location of thevehicle 100 which is the requesting source and the current location ofthe target vehicle. Alternatively, while one of the vehicle 100 which isthe requesting source and the target vehicle is executing other mobileservice, the meeting point may be determined while location informationof a destination of the other mobile service is taken into account. Thecurrent location of each vehicle 100 is stored in the vehicle managementinformation table. Further, a value of the estimated meeting time is,for example, determined by calculating estimated arrival time of themeeting point of the vehicle 100 which is the requesting source or thetarget vehicle from a distance from the current location of the vehicle100 which is the requesting source or the target vehicle to the meetingpoint and moving speed while regarding the moving speed as predeterminedspeed, and adding an allowable time period to the later time.

In S106, the operation control unit 503 transmits the operation commandto the vehicle 100 which is the requesting source and the targetvehicle. The operation command to be transmitted in S106 includes, forexample, a move command for moving to the meeting point obtained in S105until the estimated meeting time, and a meeting command for meeting withthe target vehicle or the user who is the requesting source at themeeting point. Further, in S106, the operation control unit 503 updatesthe fields of the service state of the vehicle 100 which is therequesting source and the target vehicle in the vehicle managementinformation table to “servicing”, and inputs identification informationof the matching service to the fields of the service ID.

In S107, the operation control unit 503 determines whether matchingcompletion notifications are received from both the vehicle 100 which isthe requesting source and the target vehicle or not. The matchingcompletion notification is a notification indicating that the vehicle100 which is the requesting source and the target vehicle 100 meet eachother, and, for example, is transmitted from the vehicle 100 to thecenter server 500 by the user inputting the notification to the vehicle100. In the case where the matching completion notifications arereceived from both the vehicle 100 which is the requesting source andthe target vehicle (S107: YES), the processing proceeds to S108. In thecase where the matching completion notifications are not received fromboth the vehicle 100 which is the requesting source and the targetvehicle (S107: NO), the state becomes a standby state.

In S108, the operation control unit 503 finishes the matching service.Further, in S108, the operation control unit 503 deletes theidentification information of the matching service from the fields ofthe service ID of the vehicle 100 which is the requesting source and thetarget vehicle in the vehicle management information table, and, in thecase where the field of the service ID becomes blank, the field of theservice state is updated to “not servicing”. Thereafter, the processingillustrated in FIG. 7 is finished.

In S109, because the target user is on none of the vehicles 100 in S102or an OK response is not received from the target vehicle in S104, theoperation control unit 503 transmits a matching impossible notificationindicating that matching is impossible to the vehicle 100 which is therequesting source. The matching impossible notification may includereason why matching is impossible. Thereafter, the processingillustrated in FIG. 7 is finished.

FIG. 8 is one example of a flowchart of vehicle return controlprocessing by the operation control unit 503 of the center server 500.The vehicle return control processing is processing of controlling thevehicle 100 to return to the initial location in the case where thevehicle 100 is put into a state where service is not being performed.The processing illustrated in FIG. 8 is, for example, repeatedlyexecuted with a predetermined period.

In S201, the operation control unit 503 determines whether a vehicleusage termination notification is received or not. The vehicle usagetermination notification is a notification indicating that usage of thevehicle 100 by the user is finished, and, for example, input to thevehicle 100 by the user. More specifically, the vehicle usagetermination notification is, for example, input to the vehicle 100 inthe case where the user who is on the vehicle 100 gets off the vehicle100. In the case where the vehicle usage termination notification isreceived (S201: YES), the processing proceeds to S202. In the case wherethe vehicle usage termination notification is not received (S201: NO),the processing illustrated in FIG. 8 is finished.

In S202, the operation control unit 503 determines whether a value ofthe field of the service state of the vehicle 100 is “not servicing” inthe vehicle management information table or not. In the case where thevalue of the field of the service state of the vehicle 100 is “noservicing” (S202: YES), the processing proceeds to S203. In the casewhere the value of the field of the service state of the vehicle 100 isnot “not servicing” (S202: NO), the processing illustrated in FIG. 8 isfinished.

In S203, the operation control unit 503 determines whether the field ofthe boarding user ID is blank in the vehicle management informationtable or not, that is, whether there is a user who is on the vehicle 100or not. In the case where there is a user who is on the vehicle 100(S203: YES), the processing illustrated in FIG. 8 is finished. In thecase where there is no user who is on the vehicle 100 (S203: NO), theprocessing proceeds to S204.

In S204, the operation control unit 503 acquires an initial location ofthe vehicle 100 from the vehicle management information table. In S205,the operation control unit 503 generates an operation command to thevehicle 100 which is a notification source. The operation commandgenerated in S205 includes, for example, a command for moving to theinitial location of the vehicle 100 acquired in S204. In S206, theoperation control unit 503 transmits the operation command generated inS205 to the vehicle 100 which is the notification source. Thereafter,the processing illustrated in FIG. 8 is finished.

Specific Example

FIG. 9 is one example of a processing sequence in a specific example. Inthe specific example, it is assumed that a user A is on a vehicle #A,and a user B is on a vehicle #B. Further, the user A and the user Bbelong to the same organization, and the organization to which the bothusers belong subscribes to service provided by the vehicle controlsystem 1. Therefore, the user A and the user B can utilize the vehicles100, and can refer to utilization states of the vehicles 100 of eachother. Further, it is assumed that none of the service is being executedat the vehicle #A and the vehicle #B.

In S501, the vehicle #A transmits a matching request for match with theuser B to the center server 500 by input from the user A, and the centerserver 500 receives the matching request from the vehicle #A (FIG. 7,S101: YES). For example, a list of identification information of usersbelonging to the organization to which the user A and the user B belongis displayed on the display with the touch panel 16A of the vehicle #A,and the matching request for match with the user B is transmitted fromthe vehicle #A to the center server 500 by the user A selectingidentification information of the user B who is the target of thematching request from the list.

In S502, the center server 500 determines the vehicle #B which the userB who is the target user of the matching request is on as the targetvehicle of the matching request (FIG. 7, S102: YES). In S503, the centerserver 500 transmits a matching confirmation request to the vehicle #B(FIG. 7, S103). In S504, the user B inputs an OK response to the vehicle#B, the vehicle #B transmits an OK response to the center server 500,and the center server 500 receives the OK response from the vehicle #B(FIG. 7, S104: YES).

In S505, the center server 500 determines the meeting point of thevehicle #A and the vehicle #B and the estimated meeting time (FIG. 7,S105). In the present specific example, it is assumed that a point A isdetermined as the meeting point. In S506, the center server 500generates an operation command and transmits the operation command tothe vehicle #A and the vehicle #V (FIG. 7, S106). The operation commandtransmitted to the vehicle #A and the vehicle #B in S506 includes, forexample, a move command for moving to the point A which is the meetingpoint until the estimated meeting time, and a meeting command formeeting with the vehicle #B or the vehicle #A at the point A.

In S511/S521, the vehicle #A/vehicle #B receives the operation commandfrom the center server 500 and generates an operation plan. Theoperation plan created in S511/S521 includes, for example, a route tothe meeting point A, meeting with the vehicle #B/vehicle MA at themeeting point A, or the like. In S512/S522, the vehicle #A/vehicle #Bstarts operation in accordance with the created operation plan. InS513/S523, the vehicle #A/vehicle #B arrives at the meeting point A andmeets with the vehicle #B/vehicle A.

In S531, it is assumed that the user A moves from the vehicle #A to thevehicle #B, and usage of the vehicle #A is finished. Note that, when theuser A gets off the vehicle #A, the user A inputs termination of usageof the vehicle #A and completion of the matching service by meeting withthe vehicle #B to, for example, the display with the touch panel 16A ofthe vehicle A. Further, the user A, for example, brings an IC card heldby himself/herself closer to an IC card reader provided at the vehicle#A to cause the IC card reader to read identification information of theuser himself/herself and record getting-off. The user A performs similaroperation, for example, at the vehicle #B which the user A gets on nextto cause getting-on to be recorded.

In S532, the vehicle #A transmits a matching service completionnotification and a vehicle usage termination notification to the centerserver 500, and the center server 500 receives these (FIG. 8, S201:YES). Further, while illustrating is omitted, a getting-off notificationof the user A is also transmitted from the vehicle #A to the centerserver 500. In S533, the vehicle #B transmits a matching servicecompletion notification and a getting-on notification of the user A tothe center server 500, and the center server 500 receives these (FIG. 7,S108).

Note that, for example, the user B inputs completion of the matchingservice by meeting with the vehicle #A to, for example, the display withthe touch panel 16A of the vehicle #B. The vehicle #B creates a matchingservice completion notification and a getting-on notification of theuser A in response to input from the user B and recording of getting-onof the user A.

Further, when the center server 500 receives the getting-offnotification of the user A from the vehicle #A, the center server 500,for example, deletes identification information of the user A from thefield of the boarding user ID corresponding to the vehicle #A in thevehicle management information table. When the center server 500receives a getting-on notification of the user A from the vehicle #B,the center server 500, for example, adds identification information ofthe user A to the field of the boarding user ID corresponding to thevehicle #B in the vehicle management information table. Further, whenthe center server 500 receives the matching service completionnotifications from the vehicle #A and the vehicle #B (FIG. 7, S108), thecenter server 500 updates the fields of the service state of the vehicle#A and the vehicle #B in the vehicle management information table to“not servicing”. However, if the user A and the user B are continuouslyon the vehicle #B, and when a new request for mobile service is inputfrom one of the users, the vehicle #B becomes “servicing” again.

In S541, the center server 500 generates an operation command includinga move command for moving to an initial location, to the vehicle #Awhich receives the vehicle usage termination notification (FIG. 8,S205). In S542, the center server 500 transmits the operation command tothe vehicle #A (FIG. 8, S206). When the vehicle #A receives theoperation command from the center server 500, the vehicle #A startsoperation to the initial location of the vehicle #A, so that the vehicleMA returns to the initial location.

Operation and Effect of First Embodiment

In the first embodiment, the user who is on the vehicle 100 can meetanother user who is on another vehicle 100. The vehicle 100 is a vehiclewhich can autonomously travel, and, for example, the user who is on thevehicle 100 is highly likely to be moving to a predetermineddestination. Therefore, for the user of the vehicle 100, a time periodduring which the user is on the vehicle 100 is highly likely to be avacant time period, and the user can be relatively easily met.Therefore, by the users who are on the vehicles 100 being able to meeteach other, it is possible to effectively use an idle time period ofmovement, or the like.

Further, for example, by one of points (for example, a midpoint), or thelike, between the current points of the respective vehicles 100 beingset as a meeting point of the two vehicles 100, the vehicles can meeteach other more quickly. Further, because the center server 500determines the estimated meeting time and notifies each vehicle 100 ofthe estimated meeting time as part of the operation command, the userswho are on the respective vehicles 100 can know estimated time at whichthe users meet each other.

Further, by transmitting matching request confirmation to the vehicle100 which is the target of the matching request and confirming meetingwith the user who is the requesting source, to the user who is thetarget of the matching request, it is possible to determine whether ornot the users meet each other in accordance with a state of the user whois the target of the matching request.

Further, in the first embodiment, in the case where the user of one ofthe vehicle 100 which is the requesting source of the matching requestand the target vehicle 100 moves to the other vehicle 100, the vehicle100 which the user is not on is controlled to return to the initiallocation. By this means, because the vehicle 100 returns to the initiallocation determined in advance when the service is finished, the vehicle100 can be easily managed.

Second Embodiment

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating one example of a system configurationof a vehicle control system 1X according to a second embodiment. Thevehicle control system 1X according to the second embodiment includes auser terminal 200. In the second embodiment, a matching request formatch with a user who is on the vehicle 100 is transmitted from the userterminal 200 to the center server 500. The matching request transmittedfrom the user terminal 200 includes identification information of thetarget user and location information of the user terminal 200.

Processing of the center server 500 is substantially similar to that inthe first embodiment. Specifically, when the center server 500 receivesthe matching request from the user terminal 200, the center server 500specifies the vehicle 100 which the user who is the target of thematching request is on and transmits a matching confirmation request tothe vehicle 100. When the center server 500 receives an OK response fromthe vehicle 100 which is the target of the matching request, the centerserver 500 determines a meeting point and transmits an operation commandincluding a move command for moving to the meeting point, to the vehicle100 which is the target of the matching request.

The meeting point at which the user who is the requesting source and thevehicle 100 which is the target of the matching request meet each othermay be, for example, a current location of the user terminal 200 whichis the requesting source or may be determined on the basis of thecurrent location of the user terminal 200 which is the requesting sourceand the current location of the vehicle 100 which is the target of thematching request. The move command for moving to the meeting point maybe also transmitted to the user terminal 200 which is the requestingsource in accordance with the meeting point.

The user terminal 200 is, for example, a smartphone, a tablet terminal,or the like. In the user terminal 200, for example, an applicationprogram for utilizing matching service is installed, and the matchingrequest can be transmitted through execution of the application program.

The user terminal 200, for example, transmits a matching request, amatching service completion notification, or the like, to the centerserver 500 in accordance with input from the user. The user terminal 200in the second embodiment is one example of a “user terminal of a seconduser”.

FIG. 11 is one example of a flowchart of matching control processing bythe operation control unit 503 of the center server 500 according to thesecond embodiment. In the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 11, the samereference numerals are assigned to processing which is the same as thatin the matching control processing in the first embodiment illustratedin FIG. 7. The processing illustrated in FIG. 11 is also repeatedlyexecuted with a predetermined period.

The processing from S101 to S104 is as described in FIG. 7. However, inFIG. 11, the transmission source of the matching request is the userterminal 200. That is, the operation control unit 503 receives amatching request from the user terminal 200 (S101: YES), specifies atarget vehicle which the user who is a target of the matching request ison (S102: YES), transmits a matching confirmation request to the targetvehicle (S103), and receives an OK response from the target vehicle(S104: YES). Note that processing is similar to that in the firstembodiment also in that, in the case where the user who is the target ofthe matching request is on none of the vehicles 100 (S102: NO), or inthe case where an NG response is received from the target vehicle (S104:NO), the operation control unit 503 transmits a matching impossiblenotification of the user terminal 200 which is the requesting source(S109).

In S301, the operation control unit 503, for example, determines whetherthe user of the user terminal 200 which is the requesting source is onone of the vehicles 100 with reference to the vehicle managementinformation table or not. In the case where the user of the userterminal 200 which is the requesting source is on one of the vehicles100 (S301: YES), the processing proceeds to S105, processing similar toS105 to S108 in FIG. 7 is performed on the vehicle 100 which the userwho is the requesting source is on and the target vehicle. That is, theoperation control unit 503 determines the meeting point and theestimated meeting time on the basis of the current locations of thevehicle 100 which the user who is the requesting source is on and thetarget vehicle (S105), transmits the operation command to the bothvehicles 100 (S106), and finishes the service (S108) when matchingservice completion notifications are received from the both the vehicles100 or the user terminal 200 which is the requesting source and thetarget vehicle (S107: YES).

In the case where the user of the user terminal 200 which is therequesting source is on none of the vehicles 100 (S301: NO), theprocessing proceeds to S302. In S302, the operation control unit 503sets the current location of the user terminal 200 which is therequesting source as the meeting point. In S303, the operation controlunit 503 transmits the operation command to the target vehicle.Thereafter, the processing proceeds to S107, and, when the operationcontrol unit 503 receives the matching service completion notificationsfrom the user terminal 200 which is the requesting source and the targetvehicle (S107: YES), the operation control unit 503 finishes the service(S108). Note that the meeting point is not limited to, for example, thelocation of the user terminal 200 which is the requesting source, andmay be located between the current location of the user terminal 200which is the requesting source and the current location of the vehicle100 which is the target of the matching request.

According to the second embodiment, even a user who is not on thevehicle 100 can utilize matching service for meeting a user who is onthe vehicle 100.

Modified Example of Second Embodiment

In the second embodiment, in the case where the user of the userterminal 200 which is the requesting source is not on the vehicle 100,for example, the vehicle which is the target of the matching requestmoves toward the location of the user terminal 200 to let the user whois the requesting source and the user who is the target of the matchingrequest meet each other. In place of this, in the case where the user ofthe user terminal 200 which is the requesting source is not on thevehicle 100, for example, the center server 500 may head the vehicle 100to the location of the user terminal 200, cause the user to get on thevehicle 100 and head the vehicle 100 to the meeting point.

FIG. 12 is one example of a flowchart of matching control processing bythe operation control unit 503 of the center server 500 according to themodified example of the second embodiment. In the flowchart illustratedin FIG. 12, the same reference numerals are assigned to processing whichis the same as that in the matching control processing illustrated inFIG. 7 and FIG. 11. The processing illustrated in FIG. 12 is alsorepeatedly executed with a predetermined period.

Processing from S101 to S104 and S301 is as described in FIG. 11. Asprocessing in the case where the user of the user terminal 200 which isthe requesting source is on one of the vehicles 100 (S301: YES), asdescribed in FIG. 11, processing similar to S105 to S108 in FIG. 7 isperformed on the vehicle 100 which the user who is the requesting sourceis on and the target vehicle.

In the case where the user of the user terminal 200 which is therequesting source is on none of the vehicles 100 (S301: NO), theprocessing proceeds to S401. In S401, the operation control unit 503determine pickup to the location of the user terminal 200 which is therequesting source. For example, for pickup to the location of the userterminal 200 which is the requesting source, a vehicle 100 in which “notservicing”, which none of users is on, and which is located closest tothe location of the user terminal 200 is selected.

Subsequent processing from S105 to S108 is as described in FIG. 11. Thatis, the operation control unit 503 determines a meeting point andestimated meeting time on the basis of current locations of a pickupvehicle 100 to be headed to the user terminal 200 which is therequesting source and the target vehicle (S105), transmits an operationcommand to the both vehicles 100 (S106), and finishes the service (S108)when the operation control unit 503 receives matching service completionnotifications from the both vehicles 100 or the user terminal 200 whichis the requesting source and the target vehicle (S107: YES).

Note that, in this case, in S106, the operation command to betransmitted to the pickup vehicle 100 to be headed to the user terminal200 which is the requesting source includes, for example, a move commandfor moving to the location of the user terminal 200 which is therequesting source, a getting-on command for the user at the location ofthe user terminal 200, a move command for moving to the meeting pointfrom the location of the user terminal 200, and a meeting command formeeting with the vehicle 100 which is the target of the matching requestat the meeting point.

According to the modified example of the second embodiment, in the casewhere the user of the user terminal 200 which is the requesting sourceis not on the vehicle 100, by heading the vehicle 100 to the user andcausing the vehicle 100 to move the user to the meeting point, it ispossible to let the user who is the requesting source and the user whois the target of the matching request meet each other sooner.

<Others>

In the first embodiment and the second embodiment, in the case where theuser transmits the matching request, identification information of theuser who is the target of the matching request is directly input to thevehicle 100 or the user terminal 200 or is designated by the user beingselected from a list of the users belonging to the same organization. Inplace of this, for example, before the matching request is made, theuser who is the requesting source may request a list of users who are onthe vehicles 100 to the center server 500 through the vehicle 100 or theuser terminal 200 and may select a user who becomes the target of thematching request from the list.

Further, while, in the first embodiment and the second embodiment, anindividual user is designated as the target of the matching request, thepresent disclosure is not limited to this, and, for example, attributeof the user such as a “user who belongs to a department A” can bedesignated as the target of the matching request. Further, it is alsopossible to designate a plurality of users as the target of the matchingrequest.

Further, while, in the first embodiment and the second embodiment, it isassumed that the vehicle 100 is an EV palette, the vehicle 100 may be,for example, a manned-driven car. In this case, for example, a datacommunication apparatus is mounted on the car, and the datacommunication apparatus may perform processing (such as, for example,communication with the center server 500) similar to that of the vehicle100 in the first embodiment or the second embodiment. Alternatively, itis also possible to cause a user terminal possessed by a user who is onthe vehicle, such as a driver of the car to perform processing of thevehicle 100 (such as, for example, communication with the center server500) in the first embodiment or the second embodiment.

<Recording Medium>

A program for causing a computer, other machine and an apparatus(hereinafter, a computer, or the like) to implement the above-describedvehicle control can be recorded in a computer readable recording medium.By causing the computer, or the like, to read and execute the program inthe recording medium, the computer functions as the above-describedcenter server 500.

Here, the computer readable recording medium refers to a non-transitoryrecording medium in which information such as data and programs isaccumulated through electric, magnetic, optical, mechanical or chemicalaction and from which the information can be read from a computer, orthe like. Among such a recording medium, examples of a recording mediumwhich is detachable from the computer, or the like, can include, forexample, a flexible disk, a magnetooptical disk, a CD-ROM, a CD-R/W, aDVD, a blu-ray disk, a DAT, an 8 mm tape, a memory card such as a flashmemory, or the like. Further, examples of a recording medium fixed atthe computer, or the like, can include a hard disk, a ROM (read onlymemory), or the like. Still further, an SSD (Solid State Drive) can beutilized both as a recording medium which is detachable from thecomputer, or the like, and a recording medium which is fixed at thecomputer, or the like.

What is claimed is:
 1. A vehicle control system comprising: a pluralityof vehicles; a storage that stores information relating to a user who ison a vehicle for each of the plurality of vehicles; at least oneprocessor configured to; receive a matching request for requestingmeeting with a user who is on one of the plurality of vehicles; specifya first vehicle which a first user matching the matching request is on,on a basis of the information stored in the storage; and perform controlon the first vehicle so as to let the first vehicle and a requestingsource of the matching request meet each other.
 2. The vehicle controlsystem according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of vehiclesis a vehicle which can autonomously travel on a basis of a move command,and the at least one processor is configured to determine a meetingpoint for meeting with the requesting source and transmit a move commandfor moving to the meeting point to the first vehicle as the control onthe first vehicle.
 3. The vehicle control system according to claim 2,wherein the requesting source of the matching request is a vehicle otherthan the first vehicle among the plurality of vehicles, and is a secondvehicle which a second user is on, and the at least one processor isconfigured to transmit the move command for moving to the meeting pointalso to the second vehicle.
 4. The vehicle control system according toclaim 1, wherein the requesting source of the matching request is a userterminal of a second user.
 5. The vehicle control system according toclaim 2, wherein the requesting source of the matching request is a userterminal of a second user who is on a second vehicle other than thefirst vehicle among the plurality of vehicles, and the at least oneprocessor is configured to transmit the move command for moving to themeeting point also to the second vehicle.
 6. The vehicle control systemaccording to claim 2, wherein the requesting source of the matchingrequest is a user terminal of a second user who is on none of theplurality of vehicles, and the at least one processor is configured totransmit a move command for moving to a location of the user terminal, agetting-on command for the second user at the location of the userterminal, and a move command for moving to the meeting point from thelocation of the user terminal, to a second vehicle other than the firstvehicle among the plurality of vehicles.
 7. The vehicle control systemaccording to claim 3, wherein, in a case where the first vehicle and thesecond vehicle meet each other at the meeting point, and one of thefirst user and the second user changes the vehicle to the second vehicleor the first vehicle, the at least one processor is configured totransmit a move command for moving to a predetermined location to one ofthe first vehicle and the second vehicle, which a user is not on.
 8. Thevehicle control system according to claim 2, wherein, the at least oneprocessor is configured to notify the first vehicle of a confirmationrequest as to the matching request, when a response is received from thefirst vehicle, the at least one processor is configured to perform thecontrol on the first vehicle.
 9. A vehicle control method executed by acontrol apparatus that controls a plurality of vehicles, comprising:storing information relating to a user who is on a vehicle in a storagefor each of the plurality of vehicles: receiving a matching request forrequesting meeting with a user who is on one of the plurality ofvehicles; specifying a first vehicle which a first user matching thematching request is on, on a basis of the information stored in thestorage; and performing control on the first vehicle so as to let thefirst vehicle and a requesting source of the matching request meet eachother.